Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bills giving himself a $500 million emergency fund, which he can use at his discretion

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a pair of bills Thursday that provide $500 million he can spend during declared emergencies.

Meanwhile, DeSantis also received nine other bills from the Legislature, including a measure that would extend COVID-19 legal protections for hospitals and other health-care providers.

The bills (SB 96 and SB 98) to create the “Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund” were the first measures DeSantis has signed from this year’s legislative session, with the fund becoming available immediately.

DeSantis vetoed a similar proposal last year after questions were raised about seeding the fund with federal stimulus dollars.

This year’s version called for using state general revenue.

The House and Senate also moved quickly during the session to pass the measure (SB 7014) to extend COVID-19 legal protections for hospitals, nursing homes and other health-care providers.

DeSantis will have until Feb. 24 to act on the bill. The Legislature approved legal protections last year, but they are set to expire March 29.

The bill, if signed by DeSantis, would extend the protections to June 1, 2023.

The bill addresses lawsuits involving issues such as transmission of COVID-19 and treatment of people with COVID-19.